Try Google search and you will find countless cases of daughters fed up with their mothers. The latter tend to criticise everything: from clothes, through interests, friends, to boyfriends. They influence you, choose your clothes when you are a little girl, comment on your menstruation, warn you against the evil of the world: men. They have been through it all and why shouldn't you use all their knowledge and traumas to your advantage? The problem is that you rarely objectively can look at your mother; the emotional baggage of past memories makes it difficult to flee from the influence of the one who gave birth to you. Equally hard is to survive the abuse, mean comments, and growing up in the hostile environment of the school. Unless you have supernatural powers and can get a revenge on everybody who wronged you. A secret wish of many hurt school girls, a dangerous power in a seemingly innocent, indoctrinated little girl. And two (1976 and 2013) film adaptations of Stephen King's novel. Look how little has changed despite the passing of time. What stayed the same is even that little evil desire of murder and destruction we all have when they mock us for whatever the reason. Enjoy.
We use about 10 percent of our brains. Some of us possibly limited their lives to some 7,5 (amoeba state: consumption, the resignation of deeper thoughts) and some upgraded to proud 12 or 13, having accomplished more than the average citizen of our planet (you know these: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, possibly Meryl Streep). You choose your education and profession according to the predispositions of your brain. Some of you can programme complicated computer programmes without the blink of an eye. Some are fluent in many languages. Some have an unsurpassed coordination of muscles, nerves, and reactions to stimuli. Others without the same nervous blink can conduct a surgery and save the human body. Some of us in the same circumstances vomit. Or scream. You even choose your friends according to intelligence, you seek in your partner a partner in conversation, a bearer of the outlook on life, a friend with the same ideals. Your brain makes you consider some people dumb, and some matters too boring or complicated to pay attention to. But imagine, if you could just reach the full of your potential, wouldn't you make different choices? What would you be able to achieve if there were no limits to your brain? What if a stereotypical dumb blond through a tragic sequence of events became a genius, able to control not only herself but matter and time? A brilliant concept in one human mind. Just like the first unearthed female, this time, however, one created by a human idea, technology, and Luc Besson. Lucy.
It seems to be planned by the higher forces. You meet. You fall in love. Within months, you are so deeply under each other's skin that you start to get on each other nerves. You argue. You break up. You want to forget about each other and move on. The pain of moving on reminds you how happy you were when you were in love. Besotted with the idea of having someone by your side, however toxic, immoral, or annoying it was for you and your partner. What a blissful release from the prison of heartbreak would be erasing someone from the memory and live as if they had never happened. But can you delete all thoughts, memories, conversations, arguments, and events? Isn't that by trying to forget, you make yourself remember even more? Contemporary relationships, a secret wish of many broken hearts and a still fresh concept used for e.g. Robin Schulz's OK, in which James Blunt fights with his own memories of love. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Enjoy.
When gianormous creatures destroy your habitat, you gather your forces together. You experiment with technology, intelligence, compatibility of your peers, and human strength. You create a weapon. Every weapon is the extension of the human body: a knife: an extension of nails and hands, a spear: of an arm, a bow, gun, missile: a combination of the former with a bigger impact and a larger scale. The human imagination created another extension: a Jaeger: operated by a human brain and body, able to crash the monsters of the underwater world. An appreciation of the human intelligence, the fact that women can be equally good as men even in the seemingly masculine tasks, and a whole lot of positive ideals in the battle against the forces of nature. While some science-fiction ideas actually came true, we should wait for what the future holds. Maybe we will also need a hyper-innovative extension of ourselves to last millennia. A 2013 film with a 2018 sequel, Pacific Rim.
We all have mothers. It unites us. Distant mothers, mothers who died when we were little, overprotective mothers, mothers toxic, demanding, and neglectful. Some of them shaped us, motivated and instilled values and courage. Others destroyed our relationships, family bonds, and made us give up our friends. Some mothers were for us a difficult example to follow and a role model for whom we weren't good enough. Some mothers were for us a shame due to their failing personal lives, disease, behavior, appearance. But without them, we wouldn't be who we are today. We simply wouldn't be. But to have a mother who is so blindly besotted with her child's success to the extent that it actually comes true happens once in a lifetime. Two acting talents of their epoch, two lives of connected human beings, one goal. And one hilariously good story about one extraordinary mother and how she pushed her son to success. Promise at Dawn, enjoy.
We have a few books in our lives that we like to go back to once in a while. Maybe it was that book that told the best love story, an imitation of our personal one and a consolation in times of doubt. It could be that book which made us fall in love with traveling or cooking, turning the written word into the paradise of tickets, smells, and tastes. Possibly, it was that book, which resulted in our choice of profession, making one dream a reality of a fulfilled soul. We all have our books, whether we like reading or not. We were all told a story which we can retell to anyone who would ask. Our favorite story. There are also books which connect people, help them with traumas and losses. There are books which can turn one book lover's life upside down. Karma's ways in personal stories, individual fates and the war in the background of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
There
are three stepping stones in your professional life. One is at the
beginning of your career (full of high hopes and 'I want to prove
everybody wrong' drive), the second somewhere in the middle when you are
finally at ease with your duties and your profession blends with your
identity; and the final one, when you don't have to work anymore and
come to the conclusion that retirement might not be a solution at all.
The omnipresent question of work-life balance finally rings true. Can
you be successful in your career not sacrificing your personal life? Is
your career and morale of what you do really worth selling your soul to
the devil and resigning from personal values and aspirations? Is a
relationship worth giving up on your dreams and ambitions, being fragile
as it is in the world of frustrations, one-night-stands, and
infidelity? Difficult questions at any point in your career, proving
that you rarely can kill two birds with one stone and you always have to
choose between and deal with the consequences of these choices. Three
films depicting the reality of contemporary lifestyle, career ladder ups and downs, and
hopes for personal success, which is not for everyone. Lots of food for
thought, enjoy.
In the beehive of personalities, predispositions, skills, and interests, we have chosen a vocation. Or maybe this vocation has chosen us. And when it is clear that even as a child you have a tendency to become a great football player, a priest or an actress, coming from a slightly less designer-oriented background may make your personal development in the world of fashion more difficult. God doesn't want our opinion when S/He blesses a single individual with her/his finger filling them with talent, creativity, and craft. Deep down every single deed of that person pushes them closer and closer to the final act of a genius mind and millions of minds moved. This is more or less what happened to an awkward boy Lee Alexander McQueen who became a fashion legend, creator, provocateur and DJ of muses: fashion, technology, history, beauty, ugliness, strength, and weakness. God's ways are beyond our comprehension, McQueen.
Looking back at your formative years, you can always see what kind of grown-up you were going to become. You tried your firsts: relationships, areas of interests, friendships which you were to cultivate or give up. Maybe already then you were bound to be a doctor, a mother of three, a hopeless womanizer, a genius, or a bread-winner for your single yuppy household. It was all still on the cards. But finishing high-school, you hoped for the first days of independence, new experiences, moving out of your parents' house, and finally starting your romantic life. The latter was in the pipeline. You started to have an idea what kind of people you were attracted to: were they men, women, older, younger, smaller, bigger, or were you a personality type? Some of you found out you were gay and faced the struggle of denial, acceptance, and pride. Or maybe you are finding out at this very moment. A smart coming out story and a light at the end of the tunnel for those young and questioning. LGBT goals came a long way. Love, Simon.
There's one problem with lies. While you don't have to think much when telling the truth, plotting convoluted lies can keep you on your toes. You have to keep track of all loose ends not to be revealed, you have to pay attention to facts, dates, and eye-witnesses to seem believable. But what if you have to follow someone else's lies? What if your disgraceful behavior in good faith was turned into the story of glory and heroism? What if one lie turned into an avalanche of lies and there was no return? Utterly hilarious, Return of the Hero.
Death at sea is sudden, unexpected, and cold. It gives time to search for the last hope of rescue but leaves people and vessels helpless when facing a force of nature. We are small among the miracles of the Earth. There were tragedies which hit headlines of newspapers and still do, despite better technology and constant development. You could die in a sinking ship hundreds of years ago and you can still do since the force of water stayed unchanged. Somewhere among the passionates of the marine life, shipwreck mysteries, cruise holidays, and adventure one blockbuster film was created of the magnitude of its actual inspiration. It aspired to picture people's fates, class division, the early 20th-century society, one youthful love story, and hundreds of lives lost. In 1628 a giant Vasa ship sank to be later turned into the gem of Stockholm's museums and visited by millions. In 1912 RMS Titanic lost the battle with an iceberg to become an inspiration for 1997 film watched and rewatched by millions. Some tragedies sink deep into people's hearts. Still good. Titanic.
The pursuit of dreams is not such an easy matter. It's great when you have the support of your family and friends but when their reaction to your 'I will get an Oscar!', 'I will have my own company!', 'I will be a singer!', is a cynical 'Yes, you will...', you might have your wings trimmed. Go to a fortune teller and if she tells you that nothing of the sort will happen, you might end up hopeless. But friends can be blinded by jealousy, fortune tellers blurred by their cunning ways, and people who can actually give you the chance temporarily besotted with someone else's rise to stardom. The art is not to give up, bite your lips and persevere. A modern story of putting dreams into practice and whether the price of these dreams doesn't mess your private life just a bit. Hollywood dream come true with a pinch of salt, La La Land.
Let's be honest. We are always controlled by someone. Our mothers want to stick their noses into our life decisions, our fathers picture a life for us that we might not picture for us at all. Our family members all add their wishful pieces of advice and manipulate us from the early years. It's been this way and it's probably going to stay this way. One man's meat is another man's poison and it's difficult to finally say no to numerous suggestions from the outside and be the master of your own fate. Especially, if you are a woman and you were born to run the country. An inspirational story of strong will and the foundations of a beautiful marriage. The Young Victoria.
Woody Allen once said that "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans". You think that you are on the right path to success, your carefully made decisions are there to make you financially secure and prosperous in the years to come. You're there: happily married, at the peak of your reasonably chosen career. And then your life choices place you in a cage. You resigned from certain life scenarios which possibly would make you far happier and you slowly come to realize it all. How not to lose your head in this sudden outburst of frustration?
There was once a man who pulled himself to higher classes, married into a high income - high life situation. And then met a woman who could make him happy. But what was the price of it all and was he able to keep his head? A love story with a Dostoyevski's kind of twist. Woody Allen at his best. Yep, sometimes we shouldn't make plans at all. Match Point.
In the case of Stockholm syndrome, you tend to develop feelings and affection towards the one who keeps you hostage. You turn a negative situation into a positive one, putting yourself in your capturers' shoes. But what if one stop on the way of your kidnapping turned into an unexpected vampire massacre where you and your kidnappers had to form a united front? When Donald Trump suggested building a wall between Mexico and the USA he probably had this film in mind. Blood, guts, two villains, one innocent girl, her father and brother against all evil in the world, namely vampires enjoying their night, drinks, and women somewhere in Mexico. Pure fun, From Dusk till Dawn.
Once in a while, we are blessed by a wonderful gift. A woman is born with a talent that will survive the passing of time, generations, and fading fads. A woman who will be remembered by millions and by millions admired. But behind the curtain of talent, there's a person who is fragile, flawed, wants and needs to be loved. Sometimes the best gifts are the reasons for the biggest downfalls and prove to be a burden over the shoulders of beautiful souls. A picture behind the greatest hits, a daughter, sister, wife, mother, singer, and drug-addict. An artist. We will always love you, Whitney Houston, and do you want to dance with us? A legend as seen in her family's and friends' eyes, a genuine gem among the rocks. Whitney.
Selected few have access to the future. They see in cards, tea leaves, crystal bowl or the palm of your hand. Without a hesitation, they can forecast your life destiny, your choices, and things which will happen to you in a few years' time. But to see is not actually to be there and witness with your own body and soul. Have you ever dreamt of inventing the time machine and being able to travel in time? An army of scientists and physicists have the same dream. What if the journey to and back could immediately influence your close family and friends? What if it could question you ever appearing on Earth? A 1985 cult film with two subsequent sequels (1989 and 1990), showing you how cool traveling in time can be. And how misjudged our expectations about what is yet to come. Back to the Future.
Remember when your breasts started appearing, making it necessary for you to buy a bra? Remember these patches of pubic hair, which signified that you are no longer a child and something in your body is about to change? Add to this generation gap, first crushes, and mood swings. But what if during all that madness you are on the summer vacation and you are about to lose your eyesight? Can you experience all before the darkness falls upon you and halve your senses? A story of modern rebellion and very quick growing-up. Ava.
Love. It makes kings abdicate, priests give up their promise of celibacy, people move to another city, and villains change. It's no laughing matter as it proves to be a significant factor in your pursuits, motifs, and targets. It puts your previous aims into perspective and makes the journey worth living. But can two people: one who sells what only love can give you asking nothing in return, and the other: who can buy everything in the world, clash and make something genuine in the world of glitter and false promises? A fairy-tale story of demoralized Cinderella and one modern lonely king. Any chance for true love? Pretty Woman.
We are struck by civilizational diseases. Obesity, hypertension, diabetes, heart failure. If you haven't developed any of the above yet give yourself some time. The problem with today's diet is that there's a lot of food available but the quality of it is rather poor. We consume a lot of preservatives, trans fats, fast foods, processed and pre-prepared foods. We enjoy it. They are tasty and calorie-rich. They appease our hunger and make us want to grab the second helping. But the consequences of today's lifestyle can be visible everywhere. People are getting sicker and sicker each day. How to prevent it? Maybe go back to basics and replace fried meat with some more fruit and vegetables? Scientifically proven and uplifting for the future. Forks Over Knives.






















